Research Volunteer Tourism: Defining the Experience

Research Volunteer Tourism: Defining the Experience Dr. Angela M Benson University of Brighton UK

Defining Characteristics of Research Volunteer Tourism • Characteristics of Sustainable Tourism are present • Accommodation (albeit basic), food and some travel are components of the experience • Scientific teams or individual scientists are engaged in research pursuits • The fostering and active promotion of learning and education (volunteers and local communities) • The facilities (e.g. Research Centre) support and enhance the opportunities for learning and education (e.g. labs, library, lecture, theatre, computer equipment etc) • Participants are volunteers, this may or may not involve payment • The activities of the volunteers contribute towards conservation • The opportunity for participants to conduct their own research may be available, with support from a scientific team, individual scientists or other volunteers • Participants (volunteers) may engage in more traditional holiday type activities during time that is seen as free from research activities Source: Adapted by the author from Benson (2004)

Methodology • Mixed Method • SPACE – questionnaire (15 organisations / 9 responses) • 4 case studies – interviews with founders/CEOs , and material in the public domain was also examined (publicity / company websites) • Grounded Theory - 76 Interviews (with 3 companies in Indonesia, Madagascar and Malaysia) • Participant Observation on the field trips

Organisation Perspective • Operation Wallacea; Frontier; Coral Cay Conservation; Blue Ventures; Biosphere; Trekforce; Earthwatch; GVI use the term expedition to define the experience. • legacy from companies which originated from a military background (Frontier; Trekforce; Operation Raleigh) and / or from scientific ventures both of which extensively used the term ‘expeditions’.

Other terms • volunteer trips or travel experience (i to i) • one company (BTCV) uses the term conservation holidays, which has been consistently used for a number of years • International Conservation Holidays ……get off the tourist track with BTCV (BTCV 2002) • Further in the brochure it states: • These aren’t ordinary holidays (BTCV 2002) • BTCV Holidays - your chance to change the world (BTCV 2004) • BTCV Conservation Holidays offer you the experience of a lifetime (BTCV 2007)

More than a holiday…… • Earthwatch is not a tourism company; it is a non-profit environmental organisation which engages people in its field research projects worldwide (Earthwatch 2007) • Operation Wallacea has more recently started to use the term Research Ecotourism, Maybe I would give it a label like Research Tourism for Students (Laura)

Package Holiday • …you are catered for out here; you are given your accommodation, you are waited on by the staff out here as well, so it feels like a mini Butlins really, but in a tropical destination! So it really is a package holiday – you are looked after from start to finish and you have the company behind you, (Neil)

or Not? …. • the sense that you could actually be doing some good, and helping out people, which is essentially the main reason why people would volunteer to come out here, (Neil) • I don’t know if I could sum it up in a couple of words, but a package holiday is just set out for you, whereas here you have to work at getting things done. Well, you don’t learn anything on a package holiday. (Stuart)

Is it a holiday? • Yes I do see it as a holiday, although it is a longer time. (Jez) • This is also to me a vacation because I’m getting, you know, (Erin) • I am just taking it as a holiday, the wildlife, it could be [name of organisation]. It is just a means of discovering a new destination. (Hytham)

No… • I actually don’t see it as a holiday (Monica) • I see it as a mini expedition; I don’t see it as a holiday. No, I don’t. I think that would be derogatory actually to call it a holiday. (Oscar) • I don’t really see it as a holiday (Alex) • I don’t think it is a case of being on holiday; because I think it is an alternative to a holiday at least. (Chris)

Mmm! not sure… • I know it is also a holiday if you see what I mean…… A different experience. (Alistair) • It is just that on this type of …and I say the word lightly …holiday, because one has to have a holiday aspect about it because otherwise it would be hard labour, (Howard) • It’s just – there’s a lot of different, yeah, just being away from home is one thing, to be on holiday, but it’s another altogether to be in the middle of a rain forest really. (Steve)

Take part in activities that are available (e.g. diving, snorkelling) .. • I suppose the first two weeks when I was out here when I was not doing my dissertation, I was just practically on holiday really, and that was just amazing, because I had no pressures, or anything. I just dived, and relaxed in the sun – that was really good. (Kevin)

Aspect of payment • I am paying money to come out here and have fun, which makes it a holiday. (Jez) • …or you have a holiday where you know that the money you are putting into it is going to do some good… (Anna) • In this case it’s paying to work! (Bridgette)

Working Holiday? • In this case it’s paying to work! Which is an interesting concept and novel for me. (Bridgette) • Holiday and work. (Rikard) • It is not like my home life, it is a vacation. Yes, even though there is work. (Sue) • I think it’s a working holiday. (Steve) • I don’t see this six weeks as a holiday. I see my time either side as my holiday, this is working. (Hannah)

Differences from a Traditional Holiday Experience • Companions are not chosen: • I normally go on holiday with people you already know (Olly) • The length of time: • It’s longer. (Bridgette) • Lack of Freedom or Control: • ….you don’t have a choice of what you eat…(Anna) • I would be going to (diving) sites of my choice. Here I am not (Howard)

Lack of freedom or control likened to being a Child • It is like being a kid again – you get told what to do, and you get cooked for, and you don’t really have that many responsibilities. (Celia) • It’s a bit like going, it’s almost being a child to a certain degree because you don’t have that control, and I suppose that – I think people complain about the food because they don’t have control of what they eat, not insomuch because the food’s bad or anything, it’s just that lack of saying ‘I don’t want that today, I’ll have that today’. (John)

Cont… • Lack of luxury: • …on holiday you normally enjoy yourself, you have all the comforts in the world (Fawed) • A lack of home comforts rather than luxury was also identified • I feel as well, is things like home comforts, being able to keep clean, and being cool, and having access to you know, a wider range of food maybe. (Steve)

Volunteer Experience Perceptions • Receiving Experience • …getting a sense of satisfaction or that you’ve accomplished something, or helped in some way. (Erin) • I think there are many ways that you can volunteer. You can volunteer with time, with your knowledge, with your finances. So I think it is a little bit of all of those. (Anna) • Giving Experience • …then in the last two weeks I’ll actually be giving something back I suppose. (Debbie) • ….you do feel like you’re doing something good (Gary)

Giving and Receiving Experience • …if I end up with some experience here whereby I have helped a little bit, then that is going to make me feel good. But if I don’t, then the fact that I am here, and if anybody wants a hand with anything, I will help, then I have done what I can, but I am treating it also as a holiday as well. But I have not come here just with this holiday ‘laid back’ approach in mind. I did come here with the expectation of learning to dive, which I have done. (Steve)

Mismatch • The respondents rarely used the term expedition in their responses about defining the experience, however, the term work was mentioned extensively, which the organisations rarely use. • For both organisations and volunteers there is clearly a need to expand upon the experience as being more than just a holiday

Does it matter? • Defining the experience is not only important in terms of trying to gain greater understanding of the phenomena • but it also has practical implications for both the volunteer and the organisations.

Organisations • For organisations it is part of marketing and differentiation from other alternative or substitute products. • Does the message impedes recruitment of volunteers • In terms of new volunteers and returning volunteers. • What is clear is that if organisations do not want volunteers to view this as a holiday experience more clarity in the message and terminology used is required and a transfer of that message is actions and activities at the field site.

Volunteers • For volunteers it was expressed more in terms of trying to explain and in part justify why it was different from a traditional holiday experience. • Being worthwhile for others and self • Aspects of this were linked to payment

Research Volunteer Tourism: Defining the Experience